EARLY ENGLISH
Abbreviation: E.E.
c. 1160 - c.1240
Beginning of the Gothic style.
The aim of the Gothic was to make churches higher, as a way of glorifying god, becoming physically closer to heaven, and to be seen from miles around. This was achieved by a major technological breakthrough – the pointed arch. The ability to create a structure that was no longer dictated by the dimensional limitations of a semi-circle allowed for another technical innovation in the form of ribbed vaulting. Ribbed vaulting is essentially two pointed arches crossed over one another, forming an X shape. This depended on arches that reached the same height, despite spanning different widths – a near impossibility with rounded vaults. As well as this, the ribs provide support at critical pressure points and help to transfer the weight from the ceiling downwards. The gaps between the ribs are known as ‘webbing’ - a conglomerate of rubble and plaster. It was originally thought that the key to the vault’s strength was the central boss which, in the same way as the keystone in a single arch, locked the entire ribbed structure together. However, bombing of Reims Cathedral, France, during WWI, demonstrated that even without a sizable central section, the vaults held. It is now thought that it is the combination of the ribs and webbing which makes the ribbed vault so durable. Due to the engineering genius of ribbed vaulting, structures could be thinner, lighter, wider and taller. The first ribbed vaulting constructed in England can be seen at Durham Cathedral, although it originated in France in the 1140’s. E.E. is characterised by lancet windows, pointed arches, ribbed vaulting and an overall ‘lighter’ appearance in walls and columns than its Norman predecessor.
The aim of the Gothic was to make churches higher, as a way of glorifying god, becoming physically closer to heaven, and to be seen from miles around. This was achieved by a major technological breakthrough – the pointed arch. The ability to create a structure that was no longer dictated by the dimensional limitations of a semi-circle allowed for another technical innovation in the form of ribbed vaulting. Ribbed vaulting is essentially two pointed arches crossed over one another, forming an X shape. This depended on arches that reached the same height, despite spanning different widths – a near impossibility with rounded vaults. As well as this, the ribs provide support at critical pressure points and help to transfer the weight from the ceiling downwards. The gaps between the ribs are known as ‘webbing’ - a conglomerate of rubble and plaster. It was originally thought that the key to the vault’s strength was the central boss which, in the same way as the keystone in a single arch, locked the entire ribbed structure together. However, bombing of Reims Cathedral, France, during WWI, demonstrated that even without a sizable central section, the vaults held. It is now thought that it is the combination of the ribs and webbing which makes the ribbed vault so durable. Due to the engineering genius of ribbed vaulting, structures could be thinner, lighter, wider and taller. The first ribbed vaulting constructed in England can be seen at Durham Cathedral, although it originated in France in the 1140’s. E.E. is characterised by lancet windows, pointed arches, ribbed vaulting and an overall ‘lighter’ appearance in walls and columns than its Norman predecessor.